Frame/bezel color around LCD...
I saw something today that was very interesting. I was in Santa Barbara CA this morning on a businees trip. I was having late breakfast in a local restaurant and I noticed a couple of twenty something-ers working on an unusual looking laptop. Had to go over and check it out. It was 14' iBook that the owner had "painted" dark grey. Can't say the paint job was fantastic or anything however, it made the screen look "brighter"! Very definitely made the sreen look brighter.
Anyway, when I got home I made myself a cardboard template of approximately the iBook's bezel size and drove to one of the remaining Apple retailers in my area. It may very well be an optical illusion. LCD's benefit from dark frames.
Ehh, just an observation I thought I'd share with you all.
Anyway, when I got home I made myself a cardboard template of approximately the iBook's bezel size and drove to one of the remaining Apple retailers in my area. It may very well be an optical illusion. LCD's benefit from dark frames.
Ehh, just an observation I thought I'd share with you all.
Comments
Purdy bad when a fella has to bump his own squawk...
Originally posted by hardhead
Purdy bad when a fella has to bump his own squawk...
Twice!
Unlike the newer opaque iBooks (I think), my May 2001 Dual-USB iBook has a slightly darker gray bezel around the screen. It still isn't nearly as unobtrusive as the black bezel on my older PowerBooks (520c, Wallstreet, 2400c) and my desktop LCD. I agree that a darker bezel is better, presumably because it lets your eyes focus on the bright LCD and disregard the bezel.
I would draw an analogy to having your monitor in front of a bright sunny window. If the window is brighter than your monitor, you'll have a hard time reading the monitor. In a dimmer environment, your monitor will be the brightest thing around (or close to that) and will thus be easier to read. Make sense?
Escher
Originally posted by mattjohndrow
i think it's probably an optical illusion,
Duh! No kidding, mattjohndrow! That's why hardhead said that the darker bezel "made the screen look 'brighter'." (Emphasis added.) Nobody here claimed that a darker bezel would for some magic reason have any effect on the LCD itself.
Your LCD will look dark in bright sunlight, but that doesn't mean your LCD gets darker when you take your 'Book outside! It's just darker in relation to the bright sunlight that is blinding your eyes. But the opposite effect is what speaks for a dark bezel around an LCD: less shiny stuff distracting your eyes.
Escher
I got a bit impatient that day...
No hack, just an optical illusion. A very noticeable one...
hmm ... maybe dark grey can be the "new white" for the next generation of i*products? Then again, on the other hand...
Originally posted by Mac+
hmm ... maybe dark grey can be the "new white" for the next generation of i*products?
Or the PowerBook G5 can move up to a black anodized Aluminum shell. Let the consumers suffer with shiny light bezels, but not the pros.
Escher
Within a week, I returned it for the same model in black. Silver appealed to me but ended up being too distracting.
Originally posted by Escher
Or the PowerBook G5 can move up to a black anodized Aluminum shell. Let the consumers suffer with shiny light bezels, but not the pros.
Escher
YEAH! I lke that idea!
A black anodized PowerBook a black mini iPod would go perfectly on stage with black keyboards and other music tech gear.
Yup!
If the iBook had been offered in black(or some dark color...) as well as white, I'd be willing to bet that most buyers would go with the darker color. Particularly because of the "brightness" factor...
Just as an aside, I feel the same way about the Powerbooks. I wish they were a little darker colored.
How long before your iBooks start to look dirty? I mean, white really is no-no colour for a laptop.
I am asking because I am actually looking at getting the new 14" one.
I like the screen size, 12" being too small (I mainly want to look at images on it), and I already have an old 15" TI.
Thank you in advance, especially Escher
- T. I.
Originally posted by hardhead
^^^^^
Yup!
If the iBook had been offered in black(or some dark color...) as well as white, I'd be willing to bet that most buyers would go with the darker color. Particularly because of the "brightness" factor...
Just as an aside, I feel the same way about the Powerbooks. I wish they were a little darker colored.
I'd like to see a darker color offered for these notebooks every time I see dirt or smudges on my iBook's bezel (I do clean it regularly). These machines look lovely in white, certainly, but the dirt they can attract sometimes...
Originally posted by The Installer
How long before your iBooks start to look dirty? I mean, white really is no-no colour for a laptop. ... I am asking because I am actually looking at getting the new 14" one. ... Thank you in advance, especially Escher
The Installer: Based on three years with my iBook/500, the white iBooks do get dirty. But you'll get some finger grime on every laptop, black or white or in between. Even though the iBook is physically dirty, I don't think it has ever looked dirty to bystanders. Quite the opposite! To bystanders, my white iBook has always looked shiny and new.
If the pixels on the 12-inch PowerBook (or iBook) are too small for your old tired eyes, the 14" iBook is certainly a good choice. OTOH, if it's just for looking at pictures, why not just use the TiBook you already have and save the money for some new glass?
Escher
Originally posted by Escher
The Installer: Based on three years with my iBook/500, the white iBooks do get dirty. But you'll get some finger grime on every laptop, black or white or in between. Even though the iBook is physically dirty, I don't think it has ever looked dirty to bystanders. Quite the opposite! To bystanders, my white iBook has always looked shiny and new.
I think I will get an iSkin for it http://www.themacsmith.com/iskin/iskin4ibook.html
I am not too worried about what bystanders might think, I just like to work in a clinical environment
If the pixels on the 12-inch PowerBook (or iBook) are too small for your old tired eyes, the 14" iBook is certainly a good choice. OTOH, if it's just for looking at pictures, why not just use the TiBook you already have and save the money for some new glass?
Too late, I already ordered the combo 14".
[edit: correction, I mean the Super Drive.]
Well, I guess I will do one or two other things with it apart from looking at images. And I *do* think that 12" is just sooooo small, and 15" is too big
New glass? I got all the glass I need
And thanks for the feedback, Escher.
- T. I.
Originally posted by The Installer
I think I will get an iSkin for it http://www.themacsmith.com/iskin/iskin4ibook.html
Hey, if condoms are good for humans, they must be good for computers.
I am not too worried about what bystanders might think, I just like to work in a clinical environment.
There's nothing that a towel, some rubbing alcohol and a can of compressed air (or Nitrogen) can't fix. And if you like a clinical environment, I'm glad that you are (back) on Swiss soil, where everything is so clean that you could eat off the sidewalk.
Too late, I already ordered the combo 14".... And I *do* think that 12" is just sooooo small, and 15" is too big
Excellent. It will be a solid and reliable portable photo studio. As long as you don't try to connect an external monitor to it and run it in clamshell mode. I imagine you'll simply sell off your TiBook, or keep it as a backup.
New glass? I got all the glass I need
Well, maybe you can send some of that glass my way, The Installer. A starter collection of Nikkor lenses would certainly ease my choice between the Canon Digital Rebel and the Nikon D70. I attended a wedding between two pro photographers last weekend. Both use Canon cameras and Apple PowerBooks. But there were many Nikon DSLRs among the guests, and the official wedding photographer had three of them. Talk about gear envy.
And thanks for the feedback, Escher.
You are perfectly welcome, T.I..
Back on topic: Once you get your 14" iBook, will you paint the bezel a darker color?
Escher
Hey, if condoms are good for humans, they must be good for computers.
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Great minds think/drink alike
I'm glad that you are (back) on Swiss soil, where everything is so clean that you could eat off the sidewalk.
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Nothing wrong with that
Excellent. As long as you don't try to connect an external monitor to it
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I was under the impression that with the latest models one can...
and run it in clamshell mode. I imagine you'll simply sell off your TiBook, or keep it as a backup.
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What is this clamshell mode I keep reading about? Yes, backup.
Well, maybe you can send some of that glass my way, The Installer. A starter collection of Nikkor lenses would certainly ease my choice between the Canon Digital Rebel and the Nikon D70. of them.
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There is no choice. D70 all the way. All the reviews confirm it. Well I actually do have this 70-210mm f/4-5.6 lens just lying around here. It's got a minor scratch on the glass though.
Now I just need to place my own order. Actually, my wife offered to buy me a 12-inch PowerBook as a law school graduation present. So maybe there will be something left in my bank for a DSLR.
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I thought it was about time that you qualified
Back on topic: Once you get your 14" iBook, will you paint the bezel a darker color?
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I am already working on the stencil
- T. I.
Originally posted by The Installer
Originally posted by Escher: Excellent. As long as you don't try to connect an external monitor to it
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I was under the impression that with the latest models one can...
You can, but it will act as a mirror of the internal monitor on the iBook, and not as a second monitor.
Originally posted by The Installer
Originally posted by Escher: and run it in clamshell mode. I imagine you'll simply sell off your TiBook, or keep it as a backup.
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What is this clamshell mode I keep reading about? Yes, backup.
PowerBook closed, but operating with external mouse, keyboard and monitor. Very space saving. Apple did not enable this on the iBooks, saying it would overheat, which is very well possible. Although there are hacks.
(And about that sidewalk part, well, that?s just a nice story, but nowhere near the truth.
Originally posted by Defiant
(And about that sidewalk part, well, that?s just a nice story, but nowhere near the truth.
Oh, I don't know...
Thanks for the information, Defiant. Neither of those "shortcomings" bother me.
- T. I.
*) there should be a smiley with glasses, but no cigarette